Browsed byMonth: February 2017

We millennials have finally crossed the threshold as a generation, like many generations before us, wherein the political left is willing to justify its worldview and its half-truths with violence. The riots at UC Berkeley and the violent portions of the anti-Trump inauguration protests are not by themselves a threat to the stability of the United States. However, it is disconcerting that the mediasphere, including a cacophony of histrionic voices on social media from everyday garden-variety leftists, has already begun to generate a narrative of justification for violent acts as a “legitimate” response to words and/or potential policies they might not like. This is dangerous.

Moreover, this is not a courtesy that is extended to the political right when the tables are turned. While the neckbeards and Bernie bros cling to the popular vote of the most recent presidential election to justify any and every act of civil disobedience (even when the activities veer into the realm of criminality), they neglect to discuss how and why both houses of Congress are red. The two most likely options are unflattering to this demographic. Either (A) The Democratic Party does not have the backing of the people, including demographics they once thought they held a monopoly over, and are out of touch with the spirit of the current age in America or (B) the demographics out on the streets protesting were too lazy or apathetic to be bothered to vote. This social force’s own inability to connect with and mobilize ordinary Americans is the very reason Trump has carte blanche to enact any conservative reforms he wants.

What are they protesting exactly? Words? Attitudes? A certain “feeling” that Trump will not represent the groups they want represented? (And to hell with everyone else, of course!) Where is the logic in this? The President once engaged in “locker room talk”. Clearly this indicates he means to strip female CEOs of their positions to reallocate them to Klansmen. Surely, he will send these poor newly jobless women on their way to the menstrual hut thereafter. Look at their slogans: “NO TRUMP, NO KKK, NO FASCIST USA” They’re conflating three separate things. What is this, far-right intersectionality?

Please.

These geniuses could never correctly identify a fascist. If Mussolini ran for office today as a Democrat, they’d recognize and embrace most of his policies as their own . Mussolini in turn would love his new electorate – Mussolini, the atheist who identified as a socialist for much of his early life and career. What are life, liberty, and property rights when weighed against “the cause” or “the state” or “social justice?”

The silver lining is that their excessive reactions will undermine their own agenda. The Hollywood elites are distant enough from ordinary Americans as it is, but the gulf will only widen as they throw themselves fully into a revolution no one asked for . We see it over every Trumpian policy. The left loses their mind over a “Muslim Ban” that restricts people of all faiths from the seven Muslim-majority countries (out of about 50) determined by the Obama administration. They lose their minds over Trump’s deportations, even though it is unlikely that he’ll deport more than Obama did. Whether it be an economic proposal that could have come from the mouth of Bernie Sanders, all the way to saying that men can’t use the girls room if they feel like it, the hysteria is truly out of control. Soon enough, even the most complacent and ill-informed Americans will understand the game that “liberal” elites play.

When Pompey had control of the Patricians, Caesar used the Plebs to his advantage. What would happen if the Plebs ever found out how exactly they were being used, or if they understood that wealthy liberals have something to gain from all their “altruism?” Bread and circuses until the coffers are emptied, anything to widen the gap. It is fine for the poor to be poorer in the long term so long as the rich be less rich, as Margaret Thatcher correctly identified. She only omitted that it was the rich families that the liberal establishment does not like that are reduced. Wealthy families in bed with the liberal agenda always seem to come out on top, greatly enriched; “charity” indeed. Every time a Debra Messing or a Sarah Silverman or a Lea DeLaria tweets to incite violence, the timer starts on when ordinary people will inevitably ask: “Where are they?” It’s not their children being arrested. These celebrities gladly send out legions of fans to do their dirty work. What’s the loss of few pawns compared to “the greater good?”

To the thugs who now call themselves “anarchists,” but eschew the Non-Aggression Principle, I ask: “Where were you for the last eight years of Obama’s statism? Why are you only anarchists when the policies jeopardize bread and circuses?” And finally, “Are you really that dense?”

They are not anarchists just because they desire to be ruled by a different faction of the elite. They think they’re communists, which makes them useful idiots for manipulative “progressive” elites to maintain their own power, status, privilege, and all the other naughty buzzwords. There is no greater hypocrisy. Black is white and red is blue if a progressive sophist can spin it in a way that favors his master. This entrenchment of privilege manifests itself in the dynasty, the political family.

“Progressive political families.” Isn’t that contrary to all their platitudes about redressing problematic privilege? You bet it is! For example, Senator Chuck Schumer and “comedian” Amy Schumer are two tentacles of the same squid. Chuckie writes the policy and Amy justifies it to the public at large through her medium. That’s why a fan base is collected. If it’s not a product being sold; it’s an ideology. Progressive news anchorman Anderson Cooper is of Vanderbilt stock. These champagne socialists and limousine liberals really do have blue blood. The American liberal elite are so inbred they put the Hapsburgs to shame. Tell us again about the needs of the working classes. Refugees welcome indeed. To use a Lefty technique: I don’t see any of them volunteering to take in these refugees or illegal immigrants into their homes. Of course not, they just want to use the apparently unlimited budget of the federal government to add more and more people to our spectacular welfare system, and more low-skill level workers into the work force, while we struggle to even take care of our own. The moral posturing is really something. To these privileged progressives: enjoy your cheap labor while a veteran starves.

“In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.”- Dwight Eisenhower

On Monday night, Michael Flynn resigned from his position as Trump’s National Security Advisor after 24 days on the job. This was preceded by more leaks that Flynn had “questionable” contact with a Russian Ambassador, and allegedly lied to Vice President Pence about this contact. This adds yet another blemish to this new administration, and certainly does not ease the concern about Trump’s favorability towards Russia. Some are calling his departure a “resignation” and some a “firing,” but here is the truth: Flynn was Assassinated by the Deep State.

The Deep State, also known as the “shadow government,” is the term used to describe the not-so-secret group of bureaucrats in public and private institutions, including national security and law enforcement agencies, that are unelected, yet are entrenched and hold a great deal of dangerous power. They use their security clearances to leak classified information, usually anonymously, to the salivating mainstream media who will run with any story that feeds their narrative without looking back. Many of these bureaucrats are leftovers from the Obama administration, and, at the risk of sounding like a Conspiracy Theorist at Breitbart or InfoWars, it would appear that they are going to use their power to blackmail Trump. Trump went after the Intelligence Community during and after the election, and now they are getting their revenge.

Just a bit of background on the Flynn situation: The story has, to what should be no one’s surprise at this point, spiraled slightly out of control. On December 29th, Flynn spoke on the phone with Russian Ambassador Kislyak, discussed the sanctions put in by Obama, and then denied that this occurred. The message from the Trump team is that Flynn was only let go for lying to Pence, and that his actions with Russia were just part of his job. The message from the media is that Flynn is modern-day Benedict Arnold and needs to be hanged. As usual, it appears the truth is somewhere in between the two narratives. What we know for sure is that three people from the Trump team are being investigated by the FBI for their alleged ties to Russia during/after the campaign: Paul Manafort, Carter Page, and Roger Stone. Notice a name that’s not there. FBI Director James Comey decided around January 16th that there was not enough evidence surrounding Flynn to warrant an investigation. While it is clear that Flynn did have some interactions with Russians that don’t look good for him or Trump, nothing he did appears to be illegal, and anything else being thrown around appears to be speculation. No, he didn’t commit Treason. No, there is no violation of the Logan Act (which all of a sudden people care about again). The over-the-top coverage on this by the mainstream media is mainly devoid of facts and is playing on the Left’s eagerness to see Trump fail.

All that being said, something about this does not add up. In an administration that is clearly not too concerned with telling the truth (see “Alternative Facts,” or the bright, sun-shiney day when Trump was sworn in as President in front of the largest inaugural crowd in history, or Trump’s insistence that over 3 million illegal votes were cast in the election that he won), why would Flynn lying to Pence be enough to get him fired? It isn’t. Trump is caving to the pressure from the bureaucrats. It turns out, the swamp does not want to be drained.

The Intelligence Community has repeatedly demonstrated their willingness to use classified information against someone they don’t find favorable. The FBI and NSA, using their authority from Executive order 12333 and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, were monitoring correspondences between the Russian Ambassador and Flynn. There is a plethora of laws that dictate how this information is to be used and distributed, especially if there is a “U.S. Person” involved. If there are concerning legal matters, they are to be brought before the Director, and ultimately Congress. Leaking non-criminal private conversations is not only illegal, but it gives the Deep State the power to destroy their opponents from a façade of anonymity.

This should be seen from all sides as inherently bad, and there is plenty of hypocrisy from the Left and the Right on this issue. The same people who were outraged about James Comey’s behavior during the election, are overjoyed about this, and the people who celebrated Hillary’s woes think that Flynn’s whistle blowers should be hanged for treason. Actions don’t change legality or morality because they’re done “for your team.” This is also not the first example of leaking to hurt the Trump team. Did you ever think to wonder how it is that the media finds out what is said on Trump’s phone calls to foreign leaders? Or how we know who in the administration was denied or granted security clearances? Whether or not you want to see Trump fail, you need to be intellectually honest. When it becomes acceptable for the Intelligence Community to be waging their own wars against the current administration, or influencing elections, a “police state” is not out of the question. There are examples of this throughout history, and even in modern-day Russia. If they can take down the most powerful in our country, what do you think will happen if they set their sights on the general public?

The Deep State would not have as much influence if not for its most powerful allies: The Mainstream Media and the side of the political aisle that lost, which right now is the Left. As I said earlier, the media coverage of this has been disgraceful. This “scandal” has, just this week, has been treated like the worst event that has ever happened in the history of America, and has been compared to a “Class 5 Political Hurricane,” Iran-Contra, Watergate, 9/11, and Pearl Harbor by the likes of CNN and the New York Times. We have no idea what is going on. Should we maybe wait for some more facts? The media are lighting themselves on fire and jumping off the cliff over everything that is happening in the Trump White House. They are so eager to see him fail that they are stating reports that are impossible to prove as fact.

The members of the media are chumming the water for their base, the political Left. The Left has gone back and forth between all the stages of grief every day since November 8th. Twitter and Facebook are filled with talk of Trump Impeachment Parties, ways that Hillary or Bernie can still be elected, Trump/Hitler comparisons, and the aforementioned flammable reaction to all news Trumpian. The media is purposefully adding fuel because they know their stories will sell. We are seeing a collaboration between the media and the Intelligence Community to take down an elected administration, of which neither are very fond. I really hate that I even need to make these comparisons, but this is only a few paces away from Stain’s Purges, Mao’s Red Guard, or Mussolini’s Blackshirts. These tyrants utilized secret agencies, as well as propagandized through their media, to take out the “undesirables” in their country and/or government. Throughout the election, and now, the Left keeps referring to Trump and his team as fascists. If secret groups within the government, in concert with the media, are taking out the people they don’t like…this might actually be a reasonable time to sound that alarm.

Once again, it doesn’t matter whether you love or hate Trump. We all should be able to rally behind the idea that it is not a good thing for these D.C bureaucrats to have the amount of control that they have. The Left is already faced with a president who has all the overreaching powers that they were so happy to give Obama because he was on their side. Do you really think this pendulum won’t also swing back? Allowing power to go unchecked, especially at the federal level, is a very dangerous game. If you think that the Deep State is finished, you better buckle up. They’ve tasted a small victory, and now won’t stop until they have their Grand Prize: Trump’s Impeachment.

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Luke Garrison is currently studying Criminal Law and Constitutional Theory at Seattle University Law School, and is a graduate of The Catholic University of America. For Questions, Comments, or Hate Mail, he can be reached at contact@lukegarrison.com. To hear more from Luke, follow him on Twitter: @_lukegarrison.

At the change of classes just before 1 o’clock yesterday, there was a collective wailing and gnashing of teeth at the public school in which I teach.Teachers gathered outside their rooms to bemoan the death of the education system, and plan for what they are all going to do when they lose their jobs.This was, of course, because Betsy DeVos was confirmed as Education Secretary by the Senate.Loud, angry comments rang throughout the hallways.Teachers told their students to “say goodbye to your education kids, welcome to Trump’s America.”In addition to being despicable and untrue, this kind of hysteria is the same kind you hear from postal employees every time a conservative dares to suggest that maybe we should look into privatizing mail delivery in our country.What is playing out in front of our eyes in these Cabinet confirmations is a microcosm of what the last Presidential election was all about.People are tired of the government not using their money to serve the people. They are tired of nothing ever changing, year after year.The mere suggestion that we should even consider some other ideas in this country is met with derision, animosity, demonization, and outright character assassination.This is why a majority of Americans have an underlying feeling that we never actually progress in this country.This is why we are hopelessly mired in failed programs that once played a necessary role in society, but whose well-intended objectives have either not come to fruition, or simply have just run their course.No business would continue to run an advertising program for a product that was no longer wanted or needed.That would be insanity.Not to mention immoral to waste money that could otherwise go toward growing said business that hundreds, or thousands, of employees are depending on to feed their families.

The American public education system in its present form is only about 150 years old.To even suggest that we could possibly have perfected it after such a short time, to the point where suggesting any further changes are tantamount to sacrilege, borders on complete stupidity.That is especially true when you factor in the drastic changes to our society which have occurred over that short time period.Over the years we have put many Band-Aids on it to hold it together, but the world for which the public education system was created has moved on.Band-Aids are no longer working.Is it completely broken?No, of course it isn’t.But why can’t we even talk about making some changes to it?Liberals always accuse Conservatives of holding onto the past, and not moving forward with the times.Perhaps they are even correct about that in some circumstances.However, on this issue, it is Liberals who are desperately holding onto the past, burying their heads in the sand, and refusing to even consider that perhaps there could be a better way.Shame on you, Liberals. You need to stop posturing that you are “for children” if you’re unwilling to even consider some substantial changes that will benefit them.

The people who lament and bewail this country’s lagging test scores, decry America’s place in world education standings, and who march in droves all across the country any time a Conservative talks about injecting some accountability into the education system, will in the very same breath be completely outraged by a person who tries to do anything to try and fix the problem.Do you know who does NOT go out there and march against ideas like charter schools, vouchers, and ending teacher tenure?The parents of children who are in failing schools, that’s who. When a new charter school is opened, those parents are beating down the door to get their children in.I teach in a great school.In a perfect situation, the current education system can function quite adequately.But, in those situations where there is poverty, drugs, crime, and high birth rates paired with low marriage rates, the current education system does not cut it.It’s as simple as that.Teachers show up heavily at those protest marches.Union leaders and sympathizers show up at those marches.Wealthy people whose children are in an awesome school with awesome facilities and lots of other awesome happy wealthy kids frolicking around them, they are at those marches too.The single mother in Detroit, Atlanta, or Chicago is not there.And frankly, we should be ashamed of ourselves for putting the needs of people who might suffer some inconveniences or even need to re-think their career choice over the needs of the children of this country.How dare we tell parents of children in failing public schools that the needs of their teachers and unions are more important than the needs of their children?That is why Betsy DeVos is the right person for Education Secretary.Because she is not part of the system.The system is struggling precisely for the reason that everyone who is in charge of fixing it has an investment in keeping it the way it is.All of the insiders depend on its status quo being maintained.DeVos has no investment in the system. She has no experience in public education. Most of the reasons that liberals are so outraged by her confirmation are the very reasons that she belongs in this position. If you are going to reform something, an outsider is the perfect person to do it. It is not unreasonable to suggest that things like vouchers, charter schools, and changes in tenure should be considered as possibilities to help our nation’s education system.It is not hateful to talk about those things, it is not racist, and it is not intolerant of LGBT rights.Do you know what is hateful, racist, and intolerant?To willfully and fervently act to prevent our most vulnerable children (poor, minorities, and legal immigrants) from participating in the same American opportunities that wealthy children have.If your child is in a good school, that’s great.Guess what?That school is not going to change.Your school is not going to suddenly get worse.No one in their right mind believes that every single school in the country is broken.However, if your child is in a failing school, and those failing policies are being protected by powerful unions, that school is the one that will be targeted for change and re-tooling. As it should be.

If there is one thing we as Americans should be able to come together around, and throw out our petty partisan squabbles over, it’s our children’s future. If you are an unnecessary bureaucrat in the bloated Education Department and may lose your job, I’m sorry.If you are a teacher who may lose some of your perks and benefits, I’m sorry.If you are a teacher who may lose your job, and need to relocate or find a new career, I’m sorry for you as well.If you are an administrator who spends your day dreaming up new ways not to hurt our children’s feelings, I’m even sorry for you.Yes, bad, incompetent, or just plain ole lazy teaches should be nervous.You can all go ahead and march till you are blue in the face.The rest of you should get the hell on board, and let’s try to work together to fix this problem.The education system in America is not broken, but it is old and outdated. For the love of God, the reason we all go to school from September to June is so kids can be available during harvest time to work on the farm.How many of our poor, under-performing, can’t-string-a-series-of-words-together-to-create-a-coherent-sentence inner city kids are spending their summers harvesting corn and okra?

All we are asking for is the privilege of being allowed to simply consider other options.We know that not all of them are perfect solutions.Some of those options may even bring financial hardship to people currently in the education system.As I said, I am one of those people. So be it. The farmer who stayed mired in the past and did not move forward technologically faced financial hardship.The car manufacturer who did not seek to satisfy its customer’s needs faced financial hardship. The self-employed photographer who did not upgrade to digital format faced financial hardship.That’s how it is.Liberals love to call themselves “progressives.”The very definition of progress requires some things to be left in the past.There is nothing at all “progressive” about the Liberal stance on education.It is a stance of preserving the status quo, preserving their union affiliations, and preserving their own power.In fact, it’s “regressive.” In a follow up article, I will be addressing each of the three mentioned “radical changes” Devos’s confirmation is a good step towards, as well as why they are so important for the children we claim to care about.

Put your money where your mouth is Liberals.Stop demonizing anyone with ideas that challenges a system that is failing millions of your so-called “base.”Stand up for the people who you claim need you to protect them.Tell them that union bosses, inflated salaries, unnecessary bureaucrats, and an antiquated system guaranteeing a job for life does not take precedence over the lives of their children.Do it, and do it now, or this will have been the first of many elections where the country rises up and denounces you and your policies… On second thought, just sit there and continue to spit on the less fortunate in our society by refusing to move forward in an honest dialogue.Dig your own graves.We’ll take it from here.

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Step Into The Right’s Managing Editor remains anonymous for professional purposes. He is working towards his PhD in American History, and is a professor of History, Government, and Economics.

Editor-In-Chief

Luke Garrison is a graduate of The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. He is currently studying Criminal Law and Constitutional Theory at Seattle University Law School. Luke enjoys talking politics and triggering Social-Justice-Warriors while consuming dark beer and the occasional cigar.

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Step Into The Right's Managing Editor remains anonymous for professional purposes. Another victory of the Tolerant and Diverse Left. They are currently earning their Doctorate in American History, and are a Professor of History, Economics, and Government. They are also super attractive. We promise.

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-Ciaran Bruen is a graduate of Binghamton University, and is now pursuing his MBA. After interning on Capitol Hill, Ciaran worked for the New York State Government and worked on various Campaigns. When not working or studying, he enjoys playing golf and debating Leftists
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